So you have booked your wedding venue which is fantastic news, but it's often not till afterwards that it may dawn on you that you need to decorate this space. Which can feel overwhelming if you have a pretty large space to fill. An empty space will feel uninviting as your guest's walk in and the last thing you want is for them to feel uncomfortable. You want them to feel welcome, relaxed and admire the surroundings so they can look forward to the rest of the day. It's common to feel like you don't even know where to start, so please don't feel like your on your own. I have some top tips to help you think about how to make that space work for you with some clever ideas, so let's get started. You may like to watch this video for more tips too. Ceilings If your venue has high ceilings with wooden beams, this space can often feel a bit empty and spacious. A fantastic way to fill this blank space is using items that will help bring the space down to a more intimate level. Using wooden ladders to hang decor from whether it is greenery, lights or lampshades will add some interest above and draw the eye straight to it. Avoiding the venue feeling undecorated. It makes a great guest experience to, whilst sitting underneath a structure and makes impact when they enter the room. Our Handmade Wooden Ladder is available to hire from our Prop Catalogue here. You can use the ceiling to hang things from, such as hoops, lanterns, fairy lights, bunting or drapes to bring it down to more of an intimate level for your guests. You may want to focus your attention on placing details just over the tables rather than the whole venue, this works particularly well if you are having long banquet tables. Be playful with your ideas, if the above suggestions are not your thing why not try something more fun, like paper origami shapes hanging from invisible threads to fill empty white space. Theres tons of ideas you can do. Large Entrance Signage You are aiming to make an impact as soon as your guests walk in the venue, so a tiny welcome sign on a tiny easel just isn't going to cut it in a large space. You need to go big to set the tone, so welcoming your guests with something that won't go unnoticed is key. Couples love my personalised welcome sign made from fabic, you can find it here Make a Feature of your Wedding Cake If you are having a wedding cake, it will get lost in a large venue if you don't make a fuss about it! It's a great idea to make a feature of it with some statement decor in order to show it off properly, after all you have most likely paid a lot of money for it, so you need to do it justice. I think having a backdrop like a sign behind the cake will really help with framing the moment you go to cut it for all your photo opportunities. My handmade cake stand & fabric sign is available to hire from my prop hire catalogue that can be viewed here Fill Your Dance Floor It's quite common for couples to forget about the dance floor, but in a large venue space, imagine how this looks to your guests if you don't style it up. It needs to make them want to get up and dance instead of looking empty and scary to be the first up. So be sure to make a statement and use the extra space to your advantage.You can my hire my handmade stand & fabric dance floor sign along with disco balls to help you party all evening in my prop catalogue here Music Zone If your hiring a DJ they may have their own set up. But if not why not create a fun feature for them to play your tunes in and create a music booth. The guests will love it, and it will feel more fun and interactive. Style Key Areas To help you fill a large venue, you need to create different areas in the space for different things. Depending on how much space you actually have will depend on what you choose to separate. You may want a separate table for your cards and gifts from your guests. You might want a guest book area as you are going to make a huge display for it. You might want to create a quiet zone for a memory corner with photos of family members that couldn't be there to celebrate with you. Whatever it may be, by adding in more styling, it will help make your venue feel more decorated. You can find signage to help you display this area here >> Epic Table Plan When it comes to your table plan, think big, you have a large venue as you have a large number of guests attending, so think larger when it comes to displaying where your guests are sitting. Metal grids and wooden boards are among a few ideas that will allow you to style up with extras, helping you fill out the space around it. You can hire table plan props from my prop catalogue here You can take a closer look at all the table plan designs in my shop here >> Add Extra Decorations Adding playful items that you can create displays with are great for making a feature to fill empty spaces. Think ladders for shelving, crates for different heights, and frames for hanging photos from. Decor available in the Prop Hire Catalogue >> Display Your Favours Instead of having your wedding favours on each guests place setting, why not make a fun display with them instead. Set up your display nearer the exit so your guests don't forget to grab one as they leave your wedding. I have some lovely foiled signs to help you display your wedding favours here. Drinks Area Set up a drinks or cocktail bar. A fun and interactive area for guests to linger. This could be a whole bar, or a trough with a help yourself style, perfect for an outdoor setting. I have some fun wedding signs perfect for signature drinks or cocktails here. Lounge Area Create a chill out area, its all the rage at the moment! Think bean bags, sofas, and comfy arm chairs for your guests to relax and mingle when their not going for it on the dance floor. It works particularly well in a large space as it will help your guests spread out a bit and give them a space away from noise and the reception tables which might be getting cleaned down by the caterers. In a large space the idea is to create these zones which have a different purpose but they don't feel separate from one anther. It wants to flow and make sense just like everything else. Need some more help to decorate your space? It can be very exciting taking on a blank canvas to decorate yourselves, but can also feel very overwhelming too. I have created a must have tool to help guide you through the process. This useful guide has been designed with you in mind to help you collect all the information you will need to ensure decorating runs as smoothly as possible, saving you a ton of time and stress. This is the exact method I use myself when coming up with a styling plan for projects. With useful questions to consider, checklists to help you stay organised and some top tips included too. You will be decorating like a pro in no time! You can check the guide out for yourself here >> You may also like: How to choose your wedding props >> How to make an amazing wedding design >> What Wedding Signage you really need >>>